Kim Salyer, wearing a teal Nike hoodie, sat before a desk covered in papers and files.

She'll don professional attire and have the desk cleared by Wednesday — the start of the Jefferson County school year — but until then, she's showing the staff she's relaxed.

Pleasure Ridge Park High School's site-based council named Salyer the school's new principal July 17. She'd been serving as the lead assistant principal since February and has spent a total 13 years working under different titles at the school.

"I love this school so much that it just felt comfortable for me to take over," she said between preparing for student registration and deciding where to put a freshly painted shelf.

"I want to maintain the culture that was created. If you've never been to a school like this or worked with a company like this, it's really hard to kind of understand how to build that or create that."

PRP's culture is hard to explain, she said. Mostly, she said, it's a positive feeling: You walk into the school, and you feel like you belong.

"The culture, the community, the students, the parents — I just felt like home," Salyer said, recalling her first days at PRP. "I just felt like this was the place for me."

Salyer began teaching math at PRP in 1993. She left to work as a counselor at Valley High School for nine years before returning to PRP as a counselor in 2008. She became an assistant principal three years ago.

Salyer worked under former principals Charles Miller and David Johnson, and she said both contributed to building the culture she loves.

Johnson, who had led the school since 2003, retired in June after being removed as principal following a Kentucky Office of Education Accountability investigation.

A report released in December showed Johnson had failed to properly document more than $292,000 in school expenses, allowed a private business to operate on school property and used the school's activity fund and credit card for questionable purchases, including a $1,900 stay at an oceanfront condo in Myrtle Beach before a baseball tournament.

Salyer said the district is not monitoring the school, and staff members are following Jefferson County Public Schools and state guidelines.

"Of course we went through some hard times," she said. "Now we're bouncing back, and we're just focusing on moving forward. I think everybody's mind is there at this point."

One way the school will move forward is by creating new committees that students, parents and community members can join, Salyer said.

Teachers are planning committees for groundwork, safety, discipline, attendance and climate and culture — the last of which will celebrate students' achievements.

Community members have already asked to join some of the committees, and Salyer said she's not surprised. Teachers, parents and students want to be involved, whether they're starting clubs or volunteering to fix up a courtyard.

"I think there's so much positive going on that people need to know about," Salyer said. "People need to know what a wonderful place this is."

Reporter Bailey Loosemore can be reached at (502) 582-4646. Follow her on Twitter at @bloosemore.